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BOOKINGS CLOSED Yorkshire and Humber Spring Conference - ESOL meets EAL

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BOOKINGS CLOSED Yorkshire and Humber Spring Conference - ESOL meets EAL

BOOKING FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED

NATECLA and NALDIC (membership body for EAL teachers in schools) are delighted to announce details of an exciting training event bringing teachers in both ESOL and EAL contexts together: 

Programme

We are pleased to announce a wide range of workshops and probably the first ESOL/EAL Teachmeet. There will be the opportunity to attend two of the workshops as well as time for networking and to browse a range of exhibitors.

9.30 - 10.00 - Registration and coffee
10.00 - 10.40 - Teachmeet
10.45 - 12.00 - Workshop 1 (choices below)
12.00 - 12.45 - Lunch, networking and exhibition
(12.30-12.45 NATECLA Yorkshire and Humberside AGM - all welcome)
12.45 - 14.00 - Workshop 2 (choices below)
14.00 - 14.30 - Plenary session: New ideas in EAL thinking: Caroline Bligh, Leeds Beckett University
14.30 - 14.45 - Conference evaluation and Ruth Hayman raffle prize draw

Teachmeet: Top tips to engage ESOL/EAL learners

Workshops titles

You will be able to attend two of the following workshops (full details of each workshop below): 

  • Working with Roma students: Stuart Brooke / Paul Johnson, Bradford Education Service
  • Teaching English for academic purposes for advanced EAL learners at post 16: Catharine Driver, EAL consultant
  • ESOL qualifications and citizenship: What next?: David Thornton (Independent Language Assessment Specialist) and Natalia Witcomb (Gatehouse Awards Ltd)
  • Put yourself in their shoes - what’s it like to learn a new language?: Beth Babenk
  • What do we mean by motivating our learners, and is motivation what they need most?: Florentina Taylor, University of Greenwich
  • Bridging the language and curriculum gap for EAL learners 14-19: Sara Green, Gateway Teaching School Alliance / NALDIC

Workshop 1 sessions (10:45-12:00): Workshop details 

a) Working with Roma students: Stuart Brooke / Paul Johnson, Bradford Education Service

Paul and Stuart work for the Education service for New Communities and Travellers at Bradford Metropolitan District Council. They have wide experience of working with Roma students and families as well as other Eastern European groups and refugees and asylum seekers.

b) Teaching English for academic purposes for advanced EAL learners at post 16: Catharine Driver, EAL consultant 

This workshop will draw on Lynne Cameron’s research into advanced EAL writing at key stage 4 and 5 (Ofsted 2003) and uses a genre based pedagogy to plan the  teaching of academic literacy in the sixth form.
The workshop will cover: 
  • Analysis of the EAP needs of UK born and other advanced EAL learners at post 16.
  • A review of the academic writing demands of the A- level curriculum;
  • An outline of tuition sessions which support teachers and learners to bridge the gap between English GCSE writing and A- level essays.
  • A model for lesson planning in partnership with A- level teachers covering subjects such as History, ICT, Economics and Sociology and PE. 
  • A selection of text, sentence and word level activities which teach writing skills through subject content
c) ESOL qualifications and citizenship: What next?: David Thornton (language assessment specialist), Natalia Witcomb (Gatehouse Awards Ltd) and representation from other awarding bodies 

This session will provide an opportunity for providers of ESOL qualifications to discuss the Home Office's recent announcement regarding qualifications required for settlement and naturalisation from November 2015. It will also allow attendees to discuss the next steps; can the Home Office's decision be delayed? If not, how will providers be affected next year? 

An initial presentation will cover: 
 
  • An overview of the language testing for immigration purposes across the world
  • CEFR and National ESOL curriculum used as assessment frameworks in immigration context
  • An overview of the English language testing for immigration in the UK 
  • A brief critique of the UKVI approach to language testing  
  • The most recent change to the English language testing requirement for Citizenship
The presentation will be followed by a discussion and Q&A with the following representatives: 

  • David Thornton (Independent Language Assessment Specialist)  
  • Katie Powell (Managing Director) and Natalia Witcomb (Quality Assurance Manager) Gatehouse Awards
  • Representative of NATECLA 
  • Representative of Trinity
  • Representatives from other awarding bodies
The discussion will be centred on the implications of the most recent change on the various stakeholders, and the possible courses of action available in the short and medium term.

Workshop 2 sessions (12:45 - 14:00): Workshop details

a) Put yourself in their shoes - what’s it like to learn a new language?: Beth Babenko 

Beth Babenko, author of ESOL Activities Pre-entry, is a dual Literacy and ESOL specialist, with day-to-day second language experience. In this session there will be  brief tasks in Russian before delegates explore and discuss how our personal experience as language learners can inform our interactions with second-language learners.

b) What do we mean by motivating our learners, and is motivation what they need most?: Dr Florentina Taylor, University of Greenwich

For a few decades, learner motivation has been the topic of innumerable publications and research studies. The appeal is understandable, as anyone who has ever taught one lesson will know too well you cannot teach a student who does not want to learn. But what do we actually mean by this all-encompassing concept of motivation, and how can we encourage it in our students? Is motivation a sufficient end in itself, or do we assume perhaps too easily that a motivated student will necessarily do better than a less motivated one? Can we assume that low attainment, poor attendance and lack of engagement are necessarily the results of low motivation? Can we solve these critical issues by displaying inspirational posters, giving pep talks and lavishing students with praise? In this workshop, we will examine some of the research behind these assumptions, with relevant interactive activities; we will explore alternative ways to work with our students so that they feel empowered and can more easily understand the relevance of our lessons in their own lives; and we will emphasise the importance of the support networks that teachers need in order to help their learners be the best they can be. 

c) Alternative EAL/ESOL qualifications: Sara Green, Gateway Teaching School Alliance / NALDIC

In this session, Sara will present work she carried out between 2003 and 2006 to develop language and content curriculum courses for more recently arrived EAL learners 14-19. 

Participants will have an opportunity to see how the EAL pedagogy being promoted in discrete courses is organised and how it can have a wider application across the curriculum. 

Sara will show how language and literacy principles underpinning this course can be used as a model for bringing together the teaching of language and curriculum content in mainstream subject classrooms to more effectively meet the needs of EAL learners from diverse educational and linguistic backgrounds..

Request further information
  • Date(s): 16 May 2015 to 16 May 2015
  • Time: 09:30 - 14:30
  • Price: £10 members (NATECLA + NALDIC) or £20 non members
  • Location: Leeds Beckett University - Headingley Campus
  • Address: Caedmon Hall
    Headingley Campus
    Church Wood Avenue
    Leeds
    West Yorkshire LS6 3QS
  • Main contact: Jane Arstall
  • Telephone: 07875 683 254
  • Email: info@natecla.org.uk

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